Our sweet and sassy Tennessee Walking Horse mare, Khaleesi, gave birth just after midnight on June 9th to this sweet and stunning little colt. Within 90 minutes he was standing, nursing, and had passed meconium.

We celebrated and fussed over him, and started working on a name. On his right side he appears to be wearing a puffer vest or tuxedo, and looking down on his back he appears to have a perfect hourglass or sand clock. On his forelock is a tiny white crescent offset to his right and an opposing white snip on the left half of his muzzle. We considered “The Vest Impression”, “Vest in Show”, “Tennessee Tux”, “North Face”, and “Dressed to Gait” for his registered name, and Tux, Dapper, North, and Rolex for barn name ideas.

We watched him all through night and next day, but we soon noticed he wasn’t very energetic and he appeared to be straining. Two emergency vet visits later we were hauling him to the equine hospital, where he received amazing for intestinal blockage, a nasty stomach ulcer, and a severe infection.

Truthfully, with my recent layoff and two surgeries this year, we simply cannot afford this hospitalization, but we also couldn’t watch this sweet and incredibly precious boy fade and ultimately pass either, so as much as I absolutely hate asking for help, I am humbling myself and asking for prayers and support and assistance from our network and fellow horse lovers as you are able. Every little bit helps. Our equine hospital bill is $6,850. He is home now but not out of the woods. He continues to struggle with normal digestion and colic and is receiving ongoing treatment and vet visits. Now we are thinking the perfect registered name might be “Fully Vested in Time”. While we haven’t fully settled on a name yet (feel free to weigh in), he has been an absolute trooper so far, so for now, he’s our little “Trooper” and we would greatly appreciate it if you would consider supporting his care in any way you can.